Young people locked out of home ownership

04/03/2013

Home ownership among young people in England has collapsed by a third in the past two decades.
A new report from the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) shows that 43 per cent of people aged 25-34 owned their own home in 2012 – down from 67 per cent in 1992.

Among those aged 16-24, home ownership has dropped even further, from 39 per cent to just 14 per cent.

CIH chief executive Grainia Long said: “For millions of young people, the dream of home ownership remains just that – an unachievable dream. The country’s chronic shortage of affordable homes to buy means they are being denied the same opportunities enjoyed by their parents and grandparents.”

The decline in home ownership is putting increasing pressure on private rented housing, which accounted for 4.1 million homes in England in 2011, up from 1.7 million two decades earlier.

Grainia Long said: “In many parts of the country rising demand in the private rented sector is pushing both rent and house prices ever higher, making it even harder for young people to save for a deposit – while the deposit they need to get a mortgage becomes even larger.”

Overall home ownership dipped from 68 per cent in 1992 to 64 per cent last year. Among the 35-44 age group it has dropped from 79 per cent to 63 per cent, while for those aged 45-54 it was down from 79 per cent to 71 per cent.

For older people however home ownership is on the rise – among the over 65s it jumped from 60 per cent to 76 per cent while among those aged 55-64 it rose from 73 per cent to 77 per cent.

Grainia Long said government schemes designed to help young people get a foot on the property ladder were welcome but limited in their impact when compared with the size of the challenge.

Orbit chief executive Paul Tennant said: “This review illustrates yet again the scale of the challenges we face in delivering the homes this country so desperately needs. Government must continue to do everything it can to support and encourage investment in housing, while we as organisations must innovate and collaborate to develop new models of supply.”